Kidder has starring role in latest Alhambra show

Photos special for Shorelines Kidder (center) performs in a scene from Crazy for You at Alhambra Theatre and Dining with Alex Nordin (left) and David Tanciar.

David Paul Kidder dreams of performing on Broadway.

So far, the 2008 Fletcher High School graduate has accomplished a lot in pursuit of his goal.

He lives in New York City, where he auditions daily, and has performed in off Broadway shows. Before that, he danced for two years at Walt Disney World in the Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage show. He’s also a member of Actor’s Equity, the labor union that manages American actors in theaters.

Kidder, 23, makes his living as an actor, dancer and singer. And, for eight weeks this spring, he’s living his dream by performing in his hometown at Alhambra Theatre and Dining in Jacksonville.

He plays the role of Moose in the romantic musical comedy Crazy for You, which runs through May 5 at the dinner theater at 12000 Beach Blvd. The theater is not far from where he grew up in Atlantic Beach, and where his family still lives.

He landed the role of Moose during an audition in New York City, where Alhambra director Tod Booth goes to cast each season’s shows. Moose is a cowboy living in Deadrock, Nev., who becomes a dancer when a New York City producer buys and resurrects the local theater.

Moose is part of a cowboy trio whose members sing, dance and act in many scenes. Kidder is also the understudy for the main character, Bobby Child.

“I auditioned 800 people in three days [and performers] have to be very special for me to even notice them,” Booth said. "[Kidder] is perfect for the show.”

“Not only can he sing, act and dance, but he’s very tall,” Booth said, a trait perfect for the role he's playing. “He’s so tall, he’s a force on stage.”

Kidder said he is happy to be back at Alhambra, where he first performed at age 7 as Winthrop in The Music Man. Crazy for You is his ninth Alhambra show.

Performing runs in Kidder’s family, which gave him an early start. His mother, Cindy Kidder, is a dance teacher and has been a full-time teacher of dance at Fletcher High for many years. His uncle owns and operates the Scott Jones School of Dance in Jacksonville, where David began taking lessons at an early age.

“I really took a liking to it,” he said. “I realized it was something I loved and wanted to keep pursuing.”

His enthusiasm and talent led his mother to enroll him in voice lessons at age 6, so for all of his life, performing has been his focus.

Kidder performed in every Fletcher High School show he could while a student there, and then went to the University of Central Florida to major in musical theater. After graduating, he landed the job in Beauty and the Beast at Disney World’s Hollywood Studios, where he earned his Actor’s Equity status.

Kidder moved to New York last June to pursue his Broadway dreams. He lives in West Harlem, and when he is not in a show, goes to auditions every day.

Since the competition is so intense for acting jobs, he saved his money from his Disney World job so that he could afford to focus on auditioning, and not be forced to take a day job that would distract him from his goal.

“I always knew that’s where I wanted to be, and I love it up there,” he said.

Regional theaters from around the country go to New York to cast their shows, so he auditions for those, as well as off-Broadway and Broadway productions.

The competition is fierce. But that’s part of the life, he said. At every audition, there can be from 40 to hundreds of actors vying for roles, and “everyone in the room is so good, so talented.”

The odds of getting cast are very small, because there are only so many roles per show, he said.

“You have to be lucky. You have to be talented. You have to be what they are looking for. It’s hard, it’s tough to live this life,” he said. “There’s a lot of rejection, but that’s what it takes. You have to be willing to work through it.”

The camaraderie among performers helps, Kidder said.

“Most of the time, everyone is going through the same thing you are," said Kidder. "There’s a ‘we are all in this together’ feeling. Everyone is there for everyone. It’s much more of a friendly environment than I was expecting.”

Kidder said he feels lucky to be back at Alhambra, where he can perform in his favorite musical, with “a great cast that is fun to work with every night.”

The last time he was home was at Christmas, when he made a guest appearance with the Christ Church Dancers in The Nutcracker at the University of North Florida.

“He’s happy” in New York, but we love having him here,” Cindy Kidder said. “When he got the job we were so excited.”

In his spare time, he choreographed a piece for the upcoming Fletcher High Dance Program’s Spring Concert on April 25 at 7 p.m., and the students love it, she said.

“They’re excited about him working with them,” she added.

After his Alhambra gig ends, he’ll go to Pittsburgh to perform at the Pittsburgh Civil Light Opera in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, a summer season show.

But, for now, he’s enjoying being back at the Beaches.

“It’s nice and relaxing being here — the energy in New York is crazy energy,” he said. “To be around my family, and walk down the beach in the sunshine is a nice break.”